“You... were... pregnant?” Tori asks, giving voice to the question.
“Yes, but not with my own baby. The wife couldn’t conceive. So, they used another woman's egg, the husband's sperm, and simply put it inside of me to grow. That's it. That simple.”
“How did that help you go to school?” I ask her not sure I follow. I mean I know they have to pay you, but surely it is not enough for tuition.
“Well, they asked me how much I wanted and I simply told them I wanted them to pay for all four years of college.” My mouth drops open at what she has just dropped in our laps. “Listen, girls, I know we are raised here to be... innocent and unassuming, but out there... you miss out. In the world beyond this, when you want something, sometimes, you have to think outside of the box and do things you never would have dreamed of to make your dreams come true. Anyway... It was good to see you girls. Hope you figure out what is important to you. Oh, and congratulations girls.” Her last words before she leaves us speechless. We just sit there, looking at each other, none of us willing to say anything. But my mind sure is talking. Am I willing to go that far to follow my dream?”StefanoShit. I am so glad this fucking week is over. Lately, hours spent in the office are beginning to take its toll. You’d think after years of busting my ass building my company, I would at least find time to blow off some steam. Huh. It seems the more I work, the more I make, the more I work. So Friday nights are how I let loose. Every week, my best friends and I meet for a drink and some guy shit. This time, however, Gerald has come with an agenda. “Gentlemen,” he says as we all take our seats.
“Gerald. Fellas. How’s it going?'' I ask, nodding to the waiter delivering my weekly scotch. No one speaks until the young guy walks away and then shit takes an interesting turn.
“My brothers,” Gerald starts his voice an octave higher than usual. “What have we been doing for the past decade?” he asks, looking at each of us around the table.
“Is this a trick question? This feels like a trick question,” Grant says, humoring us all. I can’t help but chuckle. Some things never change.
“What the hell is going on, Gerald?” Royce demands a bit grumpier than usual.
“We have been building our empires with no end game. No longevity. Nowhere for it go.” My eyebrows raise wondering where this conversation is going. “What I am trying to say to my friends is when we die, all we have built is for nothing. Our empires’, our life’s work, blown to shit the minute we die because we have no heirs.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask him now more than a little annoyed. Especially since he knows I have no desire for marriage. Who the hell needs the hassle? Plus, the type of woman I would need no longer exists.
“Seriously, Gerald. You know the situation,” Preston says, taking a sip of his drink.
“Hear me out. We all agree we don’t want marriage and all the hassle, but we also overlooked the fact that we can have the children without the drama of a wife or a baby momma.'' Now I know he has gone off the deep end. “Surrogacy,” he blurts out, dropping his napkin on the table like he just threw down the spade in a card game.
“Surrogacy?”
“Yes. My sister and her husband did it. Apparently, she couldn’t make babies but her husband could. So, they went to some fancy clinic in California, paid for an egg from one woman, put my brother-in-law's sperm in it, then paid a different girl to carry the baby. In exchange, they paid for her college education. Now they have a baby and none of the drama.” The silence at the table is telling. I can hear all of us thinking. Our brains, firing on all pistons as we all consider what he is saying.
“Well shit,” Royce says sitting back. “You might be onto something. To be honest, this is something that has been weighing on my mind. But surrogacy never even crossed my mind.” Mine either. But now, I am more than considering it.Chapter OneKaleraOMG!! I can’t believe I am actually standing here, in a dorm room, in New York City, about to change my whole life. It is the same thing I have been saying to myself since I got here. I mean, to be honest, just leaving the town I was born in is practically changing my life, but getting an opportunity to go to college, well that is darn impossible. Getting on that bus two weeks ago, looking behind me as it drove away from Almont, Oregon, I thought I would feel...I don’t know...sad, but instead, I felt relief. Relief that I would end up nothing like my mom. That I could have a different life, filled with adventure and safety, never being worried about money. No. This was my and my sister's chance to have more.